Fiddle question?

Question

I just bought my first fiddle and I'm very excited to start learning, but I still have to go buy an instruction book to learn how to play it. Can anyone tell me how to get started at least, so I can at least make some sound from it? Also, what do you do with the rosin? I know, I have a lot to learn, that's what I'm hoping to do. I've looked on the internet and found a lot of great instruction sites, but none on getting started with the basics. Any help you could give me would be great! Thanks!

Answer 1

Some good fiddle books to get you started:

"American Fiddle Method, Vol 1" by Brian Wicklund. Be sure to get both the CD and DVD that comes with the book!

From Mel Bay Publishing -- "You Can Teach Yourself To Fiddle" and/or "Old Time Fiddling for the Complete Ignoramous".

Having said that, it would be very helpful for you to take at least a few lessons from a fiddle teacher who can get you started in how to hold the fiddle and the bow, how to pull the bow across the strings to get a decent tone, basic left hand fingering in at least a couple of keys -- that kind of stuff -- so that you don't inadvertently develop bad habits that will hold you back later on.

The purpose of the rosin is to make the bow hair a little sticky so that as you pull and push the bow across the strings, the bow hair grabs the string and sets it vibrating to make sound. Without rosin the bow hair just slides silently on the strings. If you have a brand new cake of rosin and a brand new bow, you'll need to do a little work. Take a key or a small knife, and scratch up the surface of the rosin nice and good. Then hold the rosin in one hand and the bow in the other and rub the bow hair against the scratched up surface of the rosin, all up and down the length of the bow. Rub hard, for a couple of minutes --you need to get the bow hair thoroughly coated with rosin dust or you won't get any sound out of the bow.

Tune your fiddle to standard tuning to start with --
The 4th (thickest) string should be tuned to the G immediately below middle C on a piano.
The 3rd string string should be tuned to the D immediately above middle C (a fifth above the 4th string G)
The 2nd string should be tuned to the A, a fifth above the 3rd string D.
The 1st (thinnest) string should be tuned to the E, a fifth above the 2nd string A.

A great website for fiddlers and those wanting to learn is The Fiddle Hangout (www.fiddlehangout.org) -- great discussion boards with lots of helpful folks to answer all your fiddle-related questions.

Hope this helps.

EDIT: I should point out that although I recommended some good books to get you started, its my personal experience that the best way to learn to fiddle is to LISTEN to as much fiddle music as possible in the specific style that you want to learn, whether it be Irish traditional, bluegrass, old-time, French Canadian, Scottish, Cajun, whatever. Each style has its own way of phrasing and ornamenting a melody, its own characteristic groove and rhythmic pulse -- and those subtleties of style are rarely explicity noted in the sheet music. They have to be heard to be understood and absorbed. Its important to remember that most traditional fiddle styles weren't learned off of sheet music the way classical music is, but by watching, listening and then imitating, from one musician to another and from one generation to another, informally by ear. This another good reason to spend time with a fiddle teacher or good amateur musicians who play the style you want to learn. Join your local folk music club or Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association and find out when their next jam is - and then GO, even if only just to watch and listen.

EDIT #2: Actually, Via, fiddle and violin are often held the same way; the difference between fiddle and violin has more to do with style and attitude than anything else. If your goal is to play beautiful music for awestruck audiences to listen to (ie: classical music) -- that's violin music. If your goal is to get people up on their feet, dancing and having a good time, or at least tapping their feet with a smile on their face -- that's fiddle music! :-) Speaking for myself personally, I have absolutely zero interest in playing "violin music" but fiddle music RULES!

Answer 2

Well, I'll answer the part of your question not many people have explained in detail: Rosin and the bow.

First of all, rosin is a sticky substance made from tree sap that makes the bow hair stick to the strings. You see, when the bow hair runs across the string, the rosin makes it stick to it, but the force of your arm pulls the bow across and off the string, causing the bow to stick to the string in a different place on the bow. During bowing, this process pulls the string, lets it go, pulls it, lets it go, over and over again. This basically is like many small plucks of the string done in a short time, causing the resonating sound when you bow and after you bow. Without rosin, this would not be possible.

To rub rosin on your bow, first you must establish a proper bow grip. I suggest you find a teacher or a violinist to show you this, as I cannot explain it in words. Anyway, grip the bow in your right hand, rosin in the left, and slide the bow up and down the rosin. The only thing moving should be your bow arm, not the rosim arm. Rub the bow on it about 20-30 times forward and back, end to end. When your horsehair turns white with dusty powder, which is the rosin dust, you have sufficient rosin on your bow. It is important to NEVER touch the horsehair on your bow. Horsehair has certain properties which allow it to hold rosin, and the oils in your skin take away these properties, ruining your bow.

After this, you can get playing and making some music! (once you've learned how to. But at least now you know about rosin!)

Hope this helps!!

Answer 3

one: violin and fiddle are the same. just a matter oh how the instrument is held.

two: dont limit urself to fiddle! violin music can be fun and catchy as well.

three: dont use the internet. you will suck.

four: the rosin is used on the bow. the HAIR part. which, by the way, you should never touch with your fingers.

five: books are no way to learn. get a teacher.

Answer 4

Good suggestion by Rachel. But I can't over emphasize how important a teacher is when you're first starting out with a violin. It's really difficult to unlearn bad habits. And having good bad habits will determine not just how well you play, but whether you can play for the rest of your life without injury. A good teacher, at the very beginiing, will save you a lifetime of grief and bad shoulder and neck pains. Trust me.